Nighttime at Willow Bay (5 page)

Naomi closed her eyes in concentration.
“Auntie, are you there?”

Her eyes flew open. She half expected her auntie to materialize from the woods, dressed in a m
umu and house slippers. When no one appeared, she tried again:
“Auntie, I need your help. I’m trapped in Willow Bay. These strange men are after me. This forest ranger hunk is helping me. Really need your advice here.”

She let the message sink in, but still, no response.

Naomi slapped her thighs. This was getting a little ridiculous. She resumed staring at the woods, and ran her fingers absently through her braids. She was just settling down when an image flashed through her mind.  Of Ryder.  Yelling at her to run…of her…falling and looking back…only to see men surrounding Ryder…only to witness his death as they tore ruthlessly at his body with sharp, claw-like teeth. She could feel his pain, his fear, his need to protect her, but it was too late, everything was too late, because he was dying, and she was dying too.

Naomi awoke from the vision in a cold sweat
and a heightened panic.  She’d never had a vision before. Strange. To have one so soon after trying to connect with her auntie.  And it had felt so real. So authentic.  Like she’d been experiencing everything in real time. Like she was somehow
a part
of it. Naomi took a deep breath.  One thing was for sure, Ryder was in deep trouble. For goodness sake, she’d just witnessed his death! She had to warn him! She owed him her life!

Carefully, she rose and looked out into the darkness. Her gaze scanned the woods for any signs of creatures—anything that could catch her off guard—but she only saw sha
dows from the tall, looming trees.

Naomi laughed. “You’re not in Kansas anymore, girl.”

She walked over to a boulder and hunkered down beside it. If she could send Ryder a distress call, he’d be okay, but how was she supposed to send him a warning when she didn’t even know where he’d gone? The path they’d come from was a blur to her. And the woods were enormous.             

“One night of peace,” she
sniffed.  “Couldn’t I just get one night of peace?”

A sudden sound came from the right of her—a deep growl, animalistic.

“Ryder?”

The sound came again. Louder than before.

“Ryder, is that you?”

Naomi tucked herself behind the boulder, not wanting to give her position away.  She thanked the stars for her dark complexion. Maybe whatever was out there couldn’t see her. She wrapped her arms around her knees, and curled herself into a ball, a desperate attempt to try to look smaller and blend into the surroundings. The growl grew closer, harsher. Her knees weakened. Her heart hammered in her chest. Oh God, it was coming. A crazed beast! She looked up to find the moon full. Who knows what wandered through the woods when the moon was full. Oh God, she was going to be
claimed.
Just like her auntie said!

But then Ryder was stepping from the shadows striding toward her, and everything was okay. Every cell in her body cried out with relief. With complete abandon, she rushed toward him and flung herself in his arms.

“I thought you were a beast!”

He
gazed at her. “It’s okay, darling.”

“No, you don’t understand. I thought
they had you. I had…a vision.”

He stroked her back, made soothing sounds. “You’re safe now,
Naomi. I told you I wouldn’t let anyone harm you.” He gave her a pointed stare. “You moved though. I told you
not
to move.”

“I know, but I had a vision, and it sort of threw me off.”

“I told you not to move.”

“I know, I know
, drop it already. Didn’t you hear me? I had a vision.”

With a sigh, he stepped away from her.
“What type of vision?”

She
looked at him and hesitated, realizing that if she told him about her vision he’d probably think she was crazy. Maybe she had just prophesized his death under distress. Maybe she’d hallucinated the entire thing.

“It wasn’t…anything.
”

“Naomi?”

She buried her hands in her jeans pockets and stared at the woods.

“I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I think I
was just scared you wouldn’t come back for me.”

A look of disb
elief crossed his handsome face, and to her great surprise, he leaned in close, so that his lips were inches away from her mouth. “Darling, I’ll always come back for you.”

Naomi swallowed, took a nervous step back.
“You don’t even know me.”

“I
know, but I like you.”

She chuckled. Silly man.

“Naomi, know that I’ll always come back for you,” he continued, moving closer. “Do you believe me?”

S
he hid her smile. He looked so earnest, like a little boy begging to be liked. “I believe you.”

He grinned, and they stared at each other for a
moment, without saying a word. Thoughts ran through her mind. His care for her didn’t make sense. She supposed he was upholding his forest ranger duties, but she wasn’t quite sure. He was speaking to her like she was special. Like she…mattered.

A shiver ran down her spine.
Once again, her eyes scanned his large, muscular body. “You’re really big, you know.”

“You said that earlier.”

“I know, but you’re like huge.”

Amusement laced his voice. “Stop flirting with me.”

“I am
not
flirting with you.”

“Are to.”

“Am not.”

“Are to.”

“Oh, shut up. What I mean to say, is that big guys like you don’t have to go running after skinny dudes like that to protect my honor.” Memories of the vision gripped her.  “You could’ve been hurt.”             

“D
arling, I’ll threaten any creature in this forest that threatens a woman.” He stepped closer and his lips hovered about her neck. White-hot feminine energy rushed through her. Of the likes she never experienced before. Her head pounded and she felt a bit lightheaded. All that mattered was that he touched her, was that he fucked her, right there on the ground. She must’ve been going a little crazy because she had never been more scared in her life…or more turned on.
Stop it!
she silently shouted at herself. This is wrong. Whoever you are pretending to be, is not you. You don’t behave this way. You don’t have these types of nasty thoughts.

She took a huge step back. “Where to now?”

His gaze dipped to her blouse. She knew he was staring at her big tits.

She
resisted the urge to punch his chest. “Hello? I said where to?”

Dazed eyes focused on her
. “We’re close to my brothers’ land. We won’t be entirely safe until we make it to the caves, though, so we need to move.”

“Your family
lives
here?”

“Yes.”

“In Willow Bay?”

“Yes, just on the outskirts.”

Naomi stared. “But it’s government property.”

“We need to go,” he whispered.

No!
thought Naomi. Everything was happening too fast. There were too many unanswered questions. In the span of a two hours, she’d met a hunky white dude, confronted two would be rapists, was thrown through the air, had a powerful vision, and began to suspect that Willow Bay was far more than the typical natural habitat. Things were getting way out of hand! Ryder Jory was entangling her into something she wasn’t sure she was quite ready for.

“Give me your hand, Naomi.”

Her chin rose stubbornly. She didn’t
do
orders. For one insane moment, she contemplated making a run for the West End Trail again, but then she looked at him—and knew.  There’d be no escaping.

He would always come back for her
…
just like he said.

“Don’t test me, Naomi,” he warned, stepping closer, surrounding her with his masculine energy. “Give me your hand.”

Chin raised high, she placed her hand in his palm and let him guide her through the deep, mysterious woods.

Chapter Seven

An hour later
, they made it to the caves. Since he had sworn never to bring an outsider to his ancestors’ holy grounds, Ryder silently said a prayer of forgiveness as he helped her climb the steep ridge. The caves were perched high above the forest floor, surrounded on both sides by a lake that ran 3,000 meters west and a rocky plateau that stretched east. Most days the caves were shrouded by heavy fog, making visibility nearly impossible. In fact, few knew the caverns were tucked away in Willow Bay’s heavier foliage. No one except his kinfolk, that is, and a few otherworldly creatures who knew not to trespass.

Everyone knew t
he caves were off limits.

Only Jorys entered.

Winding his way around the ridges, Ryder held Naomi’s hand tightly, ensuring that she didn’t slip on one of the eroded depressions that would send them both careening towards the drop zone. Every so often, she glanced behind her shoulder and he gently warned her not to look down.

H
er lips thinned at his request, and once again, he realized that she didn’t like to be told what to do, even when her own safety was on the line. Other wolves would try to change that, would try to change her. Others would demand that she bow down to their commands as that was the Lupine way. But he wasn’t like that. He admired strong, loud-mouthed creatures like herself, mostly because his momma was the same way. Momma Jory liked to make things hard. Seemed like Naomi did, too. Say one thing out of turn, and the woman took your head off.

Ryder smiled.

He liked that.

He liked her.

But he wouldn’t tolerate any disobedience when it came to her personal safety. She would have to learn to at least listen to him. His lashes lowered to sneak a glance at her. As he noticed the dark circles beneath her eyes and her braids sweeping around her oval face like a storm cloud, he resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and comfort her. Poor thing was tired. The night’s events were catching up on her.

Upon entering the cave, she rushed toward a boulder and sat beside it, while Ryder found the halo lamp
he used on occasion, and lit it. Soft light illuminated the cavern.

Naomi
looked around, wonder filling her gaze as she studied the red granite rocks that lined the walls and the cathedral-like ceiling. 

Then s
he wrapped her arms around herself and looked at him.

“Are you cold?”
Ryder quickly unzipped his hoodie, kneeled, and wrapped it around her, cursing himself for not doing it earlier. Up close, he saw that her lips were chapped, and her cheeks, smudged with dirt.

“Is that better?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“I guess this has been a rough night,” he said softly, wiping the dirt from her cheek.  He dropped his hands to her ankles. “Naomi, are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?” she snapped.

She
scooped up a handful of dirt and flung it at his shoes. “That climb was exhausting.” Once again, the need to comfort her surged inside him again but he didn’t know what to say. The climb had been necessary. The Spades would be back.

“My day was getting better,” she announced, her tone growing louder. “It started off terrible but it was getting better. I had a nice lunch with my folks. That turned into a family day of shopping. And then a peaceful solitary walk in the woods and
a decent camping spot, and then you came along and everything changed, for the worse, so
no
I am definitely, emphatically,
not
, doing okay.”

Her mouth transformed into an adorable pout.

Ryder turned toward the back of the cave. He knew what would make her happy. In two strides, he found the bag his brothers stowed for emergencies. He retrieved a few packages and returned to Naomi bearing gifts.

Her eyes widened at the sight of granola bars, protein shakes, beef
jerky, and bottles of water.

“Help yourself.”

Cautiously, she picked up a beef jerky. “You didn’t do something to them, did you?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know—poison?”

Ryder laughed softly.
Gee, she was in a really bad mood. “No, darling, I didn’t poison them. I thought we’d move beyond the ‘
death threats’
stage.”

She only stared at him
evilly.  Ryder made a mental note to himself—never tease a tired, hungry woman you want to fuck
.
  He watched as she carefully inspected the processed meat—unwrapping it, sniffing it, and licking it. 

Fire lit her eyes. “I haven’t had
beef jerky in a long time. This is delicious.”